Asustek, Pegatron charged for ignoring labour laws

The pair have been labelled by Taiwan’s Department of Labour of Taipei City, which has charged Pegatron for allowing its employees to work for more than 12 hours a day with total overtime exceeding 46 hours in a month.

Asustek has also been given a rap on the knuckles for extending employee working hours without a prior consensus through official meetings. It has been charged for not providing any channels for employees to report complaints.

However, it’s not just this pair which have fallen foul of labour laws – with Advantech, Genuine C&C and Allison Test Lab also charged with violations. All, according to DigiTimes, will be given penalties ranging from $206-$2,063 (NT$6,000-60,000)

Back in old Taipei, the companies in trouble aren’t taking the claims lying down. Pegatron pointed out that an employee decided to help cover a co-worker’s morning shift which resulted in working hours reaching 15.5, while Game Flier tried to cover its back by claiming that the company previously needed technicians to help cover at night. However, it added that it would now adopt a rotation to improve the situation.

Siemens Taiwan also claimed its violation was due to some employees deciding to stay late to finish incomplete projects, but said it would work on improving.